Putting up the kayaks
Now it’s getting frosty I want to put the van in the garage.
23 November 2011 | 365:327 | 365 Days blog | Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman
Gary upside down with his head under the deck of a Kayak
No it’s not very well framed,
but if you think I was going to extricate myself from being jammed under the fore-deck of the kayak just to check if the darned picture was alright, you are very much mistaken. The framing got even worse when the kayak tipped over on the opposite side.
At least I got the ‘D’ rings we bought in the UK fitted so now we can secure the kayaks if we want to leave them somewhere.
09 August 2011 | 365:221 | 365 Days blog | Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman
Laying down in my kayak isn’t too difficult
On the other hand, getting up again is quite a struggle.
With the long open cockpit at least I can lay down and enjoy the sunshine, something I couldn’t do in a closed cockpit design. Not that it makes for a particularly good (or flattering) picture, but it sums up our day on Fellows lake quite nicely. In fact, thinking about it, this picture probably represents an all time low in this year’s 365. However, it is the only picture I’ve got for today.
We loaded up the kayaks before the school run, dropped the big kids off at school, grabbed an egg McMuffin, and were out on the lake by eight-thirty. Our plan, duly exercised, was to take advantage of the lake being relatively full and embark upon a ‘furthest South’ expedition. We managed to get a fair way up a small creek that feeds into south running arm of Fellows, far enough to be able to see traffic on the road hat runs to the south of the lake. We had to do the water based equivalent of bushwhacking to get out. In the process I found a snagged lure, which is small recompense for the two I’ve lost over the past couple of days.
While fishing I was surprised when my cell ‘phone started ringing, this was totally unexpected, (a) because I was convinced I’d left it at home and (b) because it was sealed inside the ammo box. Obviously my ammo box while metal, doesn’t make for a very good Faraday Cage.
The fishing wasn’t a success, it seems that like the fish in Stockton yesterday, the fish here have turned vegetarian too. Unlike Stockton though, at least there were fish to be seen, even if they didn’t like the looks of all the various lures I threw at them. I finally gave up on the fishing and we spent the rest of our time at the lake paddling around and just sitting drifting on the wind in the sunshine.
Being a Wednesday in the evening we took the kids to church for Youth Group, and I attended the last of the Lent classes while Ginger joined the Moms’ Group.
The bad news from the guys at church was that my EFM classmate John who was taken into hospital on Sunday has had his diagnosis of cancer confirmed. Not good. It made me count the blessings of my day and my life in general all the more.
Today’s extras
Ginger Exploring a creek at Fellows Lake
The kayaking equivalent of bushwhacking on Fellows Lake
13 April 2011 | 365:103 | 365 Days blog | Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman
Gary and Ginger on a run ashore
Today we went kayaking on Fellows lake.
In the course of the day we saw a very pretty bird, a Prothonotary Warbler, a few turtles, a deer and a couple of fish, but none on the end of my line. I did try fishing for a little while, but like everyone else we saw I didn’t have any luck.
Today’s alternate shots & extras
Gary on Fellows Lake, Springfield Missouri
Feet up, taking a break on Fellows Lake, Springfield Missouri
Inlet on Fellows Lake, Springfield Missouri
Ginger on Fellows Lake, Springfield Missouri
08 April 2011 | 365:098 | 365 Days blog | Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman
Kayaking on James River, Springfield Missouri
Today was a busy day.
We decided to take advantage of the weather and go kayaking on the James River this morning. I’m glad we did, as the temperatures got up to 72°F (22°C), giving me my first chance this year to expose my legs to the air. Despite the warm weather the lake was still frozen in a couple of out of the way places.
We couldn’t stay out on the lake for too long, as we volunteered to take kids to the 2011 Bishop’s Ball, and I also volunteered to take some pictures while we were there. We had another reason to be going though. We’d been tipped off that Alek was to receive an ‘Outstanding Youth’ award., and we wanted to be there to see him receive it. The evening was good fun, though it’s been twenty odd years since I’ve done event photography, and it showed in the pictures, I need to wear contacts if I’m going to do any shoots like this in future. It also didn’t help that the flash only worked every second shot. Anyway, Alek looked pleased with his award and Ginger was very happy to be there to see him receive tit, and it was good to see the girls all dressed up for the night.
Once I’d finished taking pictures we headed home, leaving the kids to get on with their evening – unlike last year when I headed out to the bars.
I was so wrapped up in taking other people’s pictures at the Ball, I forgot to get one of myself, so one of my pictures from earlier in the day, sitting enjoying the sun in my Kayak will have to do.
Today’s out takes & extras
Out take: Kayaking on James River, Springfield Missouri
Out take: Kayaking on James River, Springfield Missouri
James River, Springfield Missouri
And at the Bishops Ball:
Alek - Outstanding Youth award
Alek, Lanie and Katie
Ginger
29 January 2011 | 365:029 | Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman
Kayaking in the ice on Lake Springfield
It’s Saturday so we must be kayaking
It’s amazing how quickly the weekend and our Saturday lie-in comes around each week.
This morning we hatched a plan to go kayaking on Lake Springfield. The temperature had risen above freezing and, at the time we decided to go at least, the sun was shining.
At the lake I found there was a lot more ice than I was expecting, with only a limited amount of open water. Putting the kayaks in was fine, though we had to break the ice. Thanks to our waterproof socks with nice warm wool socks inside them, getting in (and subsequently out) was fine. We were both nice and warm the entire hour we were out on the lake, and had there been enough free water to really get some paddling in I’d have been too hot.
Some of the ice was thin and it made interesting noises as we scrunched through, and even better was the noise it made if we set ripples running through it. Most of the lake though was covered in ice too thick for us to try and get through.
The conclusions from the day’s exercise were that the insulation in the hulls worked well, the waterproof socks were brilliant, and we now know we can paddle happily just about anytime the water isn’t frozen over.
Today’s Out takes & extras
Winter kayaking
Ginger kayaking among the ice on Lake Springfield
Kayaking in the ice on Lake Springfield
Out take: Gary kayaking in the ice on Lake Springfield
22 January 2011 | 365:022 | Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman
